As described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,022,012 to CNH America LLC, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, combine harvesters, thrashers and crop cleaners, also known as “combines” or “harvesters”, cut crop material close to the ground, gather it together, and thrash it, removing unwanted plant matter and dirt from the grains and seeds (the crop) to be harvested.
The harvester includes a crop delivery system, which includes a header portion and a feeder portion. The header portion of the harvester extends along the ground, engages the stalks of growing plants with a comb-like cutter bar, cuts the plants off very close to the ground, and presents the cut off plant material to the feeder. The feeder portion gathers the cut-off plant material, compresses it slightly, and feeds it to the thrashing portion of the harvester. Feeders typically include a conveyor that extends from the header portion to the thrashing portion of the harvester. This conveyor engages the mat of plant material and draws it upward from ground level where it presents the plant matter to the mouth of the thrashing section.
A wide variety of crops can be harvested by a single harvester. The chassis and thrashing elements of the harvester are typically adjustable to harvest everything from wheat to rice to soybeans to corn. No one single header can be used with all of these crops, however. For that reason, headers are made to be interchangeable. A header for one crop can be unbolted and removed from the feeder and another header for another crop attached in its place. Some of the more common headers include corn headers, auger headers, and draper headers. Corn headers, as one might expect, are intended for harvesting corn. Auger and draper headers are designed to harvest grass crops such as rice, wheat, and oats. These are the most common headers used on harvesters. Different headers for other specialty crops are also known and used, but in lesser numbers.
The feeder raises and lowers, and generally supports, the header portion with respect to the ground. As headers get larger it is harder for the combine feeder to lift and support the entire weight of the header. What is sought in the industry is an improved system for supporting the weight of the headers, as compared to conventional designs.